HEREDITARY by Ari Aster

This movie carries with it a highly positive word of mouth and someone even said that it’s “this generation’s THE EXORCIST”. This kind of claim isn’t good for any movie, making it difficult to live up to the expectations. So, it was with a little bit of apprehension that I went to see this HEREDITARY and let me tell you something, it’s really good!

The movie begins with the funeral of Annie’s mother and from then on something strange starts to happen to Annie and her family. It’s like an evil presence is haunting them or maybe it’s just Annie’s mind playing tricks on her. Whatever it is, I won’t be telling much more about the plot, it kept me glued to the screen and gave me more than a couple of good chills.

For his debut as director/writer, Ari Aster reveals himself to be a talented guy, who knows exactly what he wants and how to create a creepy atmosphere. Things start slowly and go on with an increasing sense of dread that culminates in one of the most effective climaxes I’ve seen in a long time. Let’s just say that things become very disturbing and we can feel the evil that haunts Annie’s family. One thing that works brilliantly on the context of the movie is Annie’s work. She builds artistic miniatures and, as the story goes on, these become really creepy. The director gives every shot a sense of unease, helped by the kind of religious pagan style of the house. Like I said before, people have mentioned THE EXORCIST when talking about this movie, but I think it’s more on the style of ROSEMARY’S BABY. 

The great Toni Collette is absolutely terrific as Annie, giving perhaps the best performance of her life and she deserves an Oscar. It’s amazing how she goes from a very calm and even shy woman, to someone hysterical, almost insane. I love her! As her son, Alex Wolf gives us a strange teenager that doesn’t know how to react to the things that are happening to him and is always on the brink of childish tears. Ann Dowd is a truly caring friend as Joan and Gabriel Byrne is the quiet Annie’s husband who doesn’t know how to help his wife. One last word for Milly Shapiro as the strange Charlie.

This is, without any doubt, one of the best movies of the year and reveals a brand-new director, of whom I hope we’ll be seeing a lot of new movies. At its core it’s a family drama, but a very dark and disturbing one. Don’t miss it!

My Rate: 9 (de 1 a 10)